


Thin Walls

by beatlelover22



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes is sick, Captain America AU, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Cold, Common Cold, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve Rogers, Sick Character, Sickfic, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-09 18:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19892176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beatlelover22/pseuds/beatlelover22
Summary: Steve and Bucky are neighbors. They finally meet after Bucky catches a cold.





	1. Invading Cold

Steve Rogers had lived in the apartment adjacent from Bucky Barnes for about five months now. The apartment building itself was rather sub-par, to say the least. The hot water in the building was non-existent, or so Steve had thought (he later learned the trick to a warm shower: let the shower run for 15 minutes, then flush the toilet twice). The walls were impossibly thin, so he got to listen in on conversations (whether he wanted to or not), and it wasn't uncommon to hear a moan travel through the ventilation. Vermin was also an issue. Now and again, he’d see a mouse and had caught his fair share of spiders and cockroaches. 

Regardless, Steve was glad to be living in the city and it was a bonus that he could afford the apartment. The only thing he concerned himself with was keeping a low profile. Because of his identity, he hadn't met anyone, not even his adjacent neighbors. However, the recent cold weather and lack of hot water changed this.

“Mother, I don'’ need a blind date,” Mark Darcy protested from the television in front of Steve. “Particularly not with some verbally incontinent spinster who drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, and dresses like her mother.” 

Steve watched on as Renée Zellweger’s character glanced up, embarrassed. He had never seen this film before, but he was quiet sure he liked it. A chill went through him, causing him to involuntarily shiver. With a quick inspection, he discovered the heating had stopped working. Great. Just as Steve had pulled out the room number of the maintenance worker, a sudden sound made him freeze.

“ _Uh’ **KZDSHSHHH!**_ ”

Steve cocked his head and listened as another violent sneeze interrupted his task. 

“ _ **HURESHOOO!**_ ” 

Huh. In the few months he'd lived in the apartment, Steve had never heard his neighbor sneezing. Come to think of it, the neighbor was pretty low-profile too.

He knew the man’s name was Bucky, thanks to the proximity of their mailboxes. Steve had seen him a few times as well: pale skin, dark eyes, long, ragged hair. He might’ve guessed that man was homeless, had it not been for them being neighbors and all.

When Bucky finally appeared to have stopped sneezing, he broke off into a short fit of coughing and continued on with what he was doing (which seemed to be watching the same film as Steve — ha!). Hmm. 

Steve guessed Bucky was probably sick. It would make since, definitely. Mid-January in New York, freezing cold showers, lack of heat thanks to the shitty maintenance... poor guy.

Steve being Steve opened his cupboard and collected a few supplies. Two cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup, a packet of Emergen-C, and a travel pack of tissues. Yes, this would do just fine. 

Steve opened the door to his apartment and stepped out into the hall, looking around before placing the items outside Bucky’s door. He quickly scribbled a note (“Take care!”) and stuck it on one of the soup cans. He retreated back to his room and dug out the number of their maintenance man. If anything, the heat would have to be fixed by tonight.


	2. Meeting

A knock on Steve’s door startled him, despite having been awake for the past few hours. He’d woken at 5 a.m., got dressed, went for a brief run, and was currently sipping a smoothie he’d prepared himself. Internet, so helpful. The knock pushed him out of his thoughts. 

Steve opened his door to his neighbor, who looked disheveled and half-asleep. “Hi,” Steve began. “You must be 3B?” 

The other man smiled gently, brushing the long, dark hair out of his eyes. “Yeah, I’m Bucky. Nice to meet you, 3A.”

“Steve,” he supplied, offering his hand.

Bucky accepted and they shook. “I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for the, ah, care package.” 

It took Steve a few seconds to recall that he’d left some assorted items outside Bucky’s door. “Oh, right, right. I hope you’re feeling better.” 

Right on cue, Bucky’s nose twitched and his eyelids fluttered shut. Steve waited patiently. 

“ _Hh’ **RFFSHH!** Ahh... hahh..._” Bucky clearly had to sneeze again and he wasn’t tortured for long. “ _Heh’ **KHSHOO!** _Ah, shid. Do you hab a _t-tihhh—_ tissue?” 

He was holding his nose with a hand when Steve remembered it was him he was talking to. 

“Oh right, yeah of course, of course. Come in.” He stepped aside, letting the other man in. “Bathroom’s on the left.”

“Thags.” Bucky closed the bathroom door behind him but Steve could still hear him miserably gurgling into a tissue. There was a toilet flush, followed by water running. 

Bucky came out of the bathroom, nose red and irritated. “Man,” he said, crossing his arms. “The water coming out of your sink is ice cold.” 

Steve could see the goosebumps on the other man’s arms and tried not to stare at his tight-fitting T-shirt. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot to mention that the pipes are backwards, so you actually have to turn the hands to the side that’s labelled cold in order to get hot water.” 

Bucky gave him a quizzical look. 

“It’s weird, I know,” Steve answered sheepishly. “How long have you lived here? Your plumbing’s probably the same.”

“Huh. I moved in about five months ago, I think. So far, I’m not impressed.” Bucky’s laugh sounded like a bark, which then almost instantly turned into a fit of coughing. 

“That doesn’t sound too good.” 

“It’s really... fine,” Bucky replied, still trying to catch his breath. “Sounds... worse than it is.” 

“Well,” Steve said, nervously rubbing the back of his head. “You wanna sit down or something?”

Bucky nodded, holding up a finger. “Sorry, I’m gonna— _hh’ **SHUHHH!** Hur’ **ESHOOO!**_ ” He stumbled backwards and dizzily found himself on the couch. 

“Bless you,” Steve offered. “You always sneeze in two’s?” 

“Not always, but this cold’s kicking my _ahhh... ahhH!_ My ass.” He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. “I’m sorry,” he added, looking at Steve through itchy, watery eyes. “I’m absolutely shit company right now.”

“No, not at all. Can I get you something? Water, coffee, tea?”

“Sure. Actually, tea sounds really nice.” 

“Great. Feel free to turn on the television too, the remote’s on the table.” 

As Steve was putting the kettle on, he heard Bucky chuckle. “You’ve been watching Bridget Jones?”

“Yeah, I had some catching up to do.” 

“Catching up?” 

Shit. “Yeah. I was uh, on active duty for awhile. I missed a lot.” 

“Oh.” Bucky nodded. “It’s a great series.” 

“I gotta ask though...” Steve began, placing the steaming cup of tea in front of Bucky. “Mark or Daniel?”

“Oh, Mark, definitely.”

“Agreed.” Steve sat adjacent Bucky and kicked off his shoes. “Have you seen the second film?”

Bucky shook his head before snapping forward. “ _Heh’ **SHHHH!** Hehh... ehhH! Eh’ **TSHSHHH!**_ ”

“Bless,” Steve gave him a sympathetic look. ”Are you in any mood to watch?”

“Yeah, of course. Thad sounds perfecd.” Bucky punctuated his reply with a very liquid sniffle. 

“Hang on,” Steve jumped up as the title screen presented itself. “I’ll go grab the tissues.”

“Thags,” Bucky said, sniffling behind his hand. “Thad’s so dice of you.” 

Steve was glad Bucky couldn’t see his blushing face at the moment. “Sure. You want a blanket, too?”

“Whad, you’ve kdown be for 20 bidutes and you already kdow be so well. Id’s abazing.” 

Steve returned with the tissues and blanket, the latter which he handed to Bucky. “Just let me know if you need anything else.” 

“You’re a really good caretaker, you kdow thad righd?”

Steve shrugged. “It’s been said a few times.” 

As Renée Zellweger appeared on the screen, Bucky kicked off his shoes and curled into the couch. It was around this time that Steve wished Bucky was sitting just a little bit closer to him. Close enough to put his head on Steve’s shoulder, perhaps.


End file.
